Parents out there, you remember the first few months after bringing the newborn home? Sleepless nights. Messy diapers. Endless time on the rocking chair. Dirty house. Laundry running over. Stress. Change. Upheaval. Did you ask yourself, “What did we get into? Did we make the right decision?” There was a couple like that in the Bible. Their names were Amram and Jochebed, the parents of Moses. Pharaoh had just issued a command to kill all the newborn baby boys. In Exodus 2:2 the Bible says, “And she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.”
Jochabed looked at the child and saw he was exceptional. Holding her inconvenient, sweet, beautiful baby, she made a daring decision. She spent all three months of her maternity leave hiding and protecting her son.
What can we learn from these courageous parents?
First – Parents protect. God blessed Wendy and me with five amazing daughters. Then one day, we realized we had some reliable babysitters and so we tried one more time. In the past pregnancies, we did all we could to have a boy. We read a book called “Choosing the Sex of Your Baby” that turned out to be pure heresy. It suggested I drink a strong cup of Joe just before jumping in the sack. I loved this idea. I was able to enjoy my two most favorite things in the world – coffee and sex! Some suggested we put male socks in Wendy’s underwear drawer. Pure poppycock. So, on our last attempt, we just had fun and out came son.
Our joy was darkened a bit when we discovered he had severe allergies. Testing showed allergic reactions to fish, dairy, peanuts, gluten, and soy. Wendy was committed to breastfeeding. So, she had some soul searching to do. In the end, she dug in and chose to cut all of these foods from her diet to protect her baby. That’s when his complexion cleared and Wendy experienced a sudden burst of energy from eating naturally. Today, at six he’s a wild man and allergy free.
Parents make personal sacrifices to protect their children. They stay up late until she gets home from prom. They create cell phone contracts and monitor screen time. The get out of the car and meet the parents hosting the party. They invite the boy inside for a talk before sending their daughter out the door with a stranger. They’re OK with the silent treatment and the stares from their disgruntled kids. They stay up late into the night and listen when their kids want to have a big talk. And, they don’t listen to radical voices in the culture that say parenting is for lazy people who have no dreams and want the easy way out. Instead, they become eager students on the subject and embrace it as their high and holy calling.
Babies in the first three months have three jobs – eating, sleeping, and pooping. It’s not too difficult to keep them quiet. But somehow the word got out, and Jocabed knew she had to go plan B to save her son. Exodus 2:3 says, “But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.”
